


let them talk

by n7punk



Series: and they were roommates [3]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Modern AU but still different species
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:55:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28176528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n7punk/pseuds/n7punk
Summary: Everyone in their lives already knew how they felt about each other, but now it is finally real, and time not only to tell people, but also to enjoy it themselves.(Catradora roommates in Modern Etheria AU - sequel to 'on the other side')
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: and they were roommates [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021597
Comments: 50
Kudos: 410
Collections: Catradora AUs by n7punk





	let them talk

**Author's Note:**

> Picks up immediately after the end of otos. You can skip blym and still have this make sense, but you cannot skip otos.

Glimmer rants in Catra’s general direction about _we have been trying for years_ and _you two idiots, I swear_ before she cuts off mid-sentence and turns to where Catra is lounging smugly on the bench across from her. Glimmer slams her hands down on the table, leveling Catra with her best interrogation face.

“You two _are_ together now, right? Adora doesn’t somehow still think this is platonic?” she demands, a _desperate_ edge to her voice as she practically begs. Catra snorts, rolling her eyes as she leans forward to hunch with her elbows on the surface of the picnic table.

“I told her I love her,” she assures. Glimmer blinks at her, some of the utter _frustration_ leaking out of her. At her side, Bow breaks into a wide smile and offers her a thumbs up. Catra blinks slowly at him, just accepting the gesture. Anyone other than her friends and she would think it was condescending, but Adora just attracts people _like this_. Glimmer is still staring at her.

“Adora could still think that’s platonic. She’s an _idiot_ ,” Glimmer returns. Catra suppresses the urge to hiss, though her ears pin back. Yes, Adora can be a moron at times, but only _Catra_ gets to say that. She doesn’t want other people badmouthing her girlfriend, even if she knows Glimmer doesn’t mean it negatively.

“We agreed to call each other girlfriends,” Catra refutes, tracing her claws on the tabletop to keep from reacting to something that doesn’t actually _warrant_ it. Glimmer and Bow both let out visible sighs of relief.

\--

By the time Adora’s soccer game is done, Glimmer, Bow, and Catra have vanished from the picnic table. She runs into Bow near the end of her shift, and Bow tells her he is proud of her, which Adora doesn’t _quite_ understand, but she hugs him anyway because it seems like the right thing to do. Bow hugs her back, and then makes her promise to talk to Catra _with your words, Adora_ so they don’t have something simmer for years again. Adora flushes, but she agrees.

She fidgets with her hands the entire bus ride home. Bow is right, Adora couldn’t take something going wrong now, but what if she _makes_ it wrong by saying too much when this whole thing is too fresh and new to take it? But then, what if she waits, and it would have been fine but now Catra feels like she lied about it? When she walks in the front door to the apartment, Catra takes one look at her from her spot on the couch and rolls her eyes.

Catra takes her hand and leads her into the bedroom, sitting her on the edge of the bed. Adora knows this Catra – she has seen her a few times, usually when Adora received an injury at work or on the field. She passively lets Catra undress her from her work uniform and redress her with a thrifted t-shirt and pair of sweatpants. Catra kisses her forehead as she straightens and looks down at Adora with soft eyes.

“You want to talk about it?” she asks, because she can tell Adora is spiraling, even if she doesn’t know over what. This is the Catra that is determined to take care of her, no matter how Adora may protest. Adora bites her lip and nods, reaching out for Catra and guiding her down to straddle her lap.

“I have a confession, about last week,” she tells her, fixing her gaze determinedly on Catra’s shoulder. Catra pauses, and then she raises her hands and gently cups Adora’s face. Adora blinks up at her as Catra redirects her to meet her eyes. Catra’s eyes are searching, her brow a little furrowed with worry. Adora swallows. She _needs_ to say this before Catra spirals, but she still feels guilty about it and it is hard to admit it.

“When you- had that girl over, on Tuesday, I- I got off listening to your voice. I know it was a violation, and I’m sorry-“ Adora starts, a rambling and inadequate attempt at an apology, but Catra cuts her off by _laughing_ , light and disbelieving. Her eyes crinkle up as she looks down at Adora.

“ _Adora_ , I’ve gotten off listening to you take care of yourself through the wall. It’s fine. If we _weren’t_ us it wouldn’t be, but we are, and I don’t care,” Catra promises her, rolling her eyes. Adora finds herself blinking up at her. Now _that_ is a revelation. Her brain feels like it is running in half-time reconciling this information with what she previously believed was reality. Catra smirks, leaning forward to whisper in her ear.

“Did hearing me get you going, Adora? Were you trying to hold yourself back?” she asks, her tone low, seductive, and _teasing_. Adora’s hands in her lap uselessly spasm for a moment before she reaches for Catra’s waist, tugging her closer. Catra purrs in satisfaction, arching her back into the touch a little.

“When did you break, Adora? What made you touch yourself? How were you picturing me?” she asks, because she wants to _kill her_. Okay, so this is _not_ how Adora pictured this going in the slightest. She lets out a soft whimper and Catra pulls back, making eye contact with her again. “Okay?” she questions, voice low. Adora swallows and nods, tugging on her waist to bring them back together.

“Just- when you talk like that- Catra, _I didn’t touch myself_. I got off just listening to your voice,” Adora tells her. It is Catra’s turn to still and stare at her in shock. Adora feels herself blush, dropping her head to rest her forehead on Catra’s shoulder. “I’ve gotten off just from holding you through it before, too. I don’t think you have any idea what you _sound_ like,” Adora admits, still embarrassed, but not _worried_ anymore at least. Against her, Catra is silent for a long moment.

“Shit, Adora,” she finally breathes. Adora snorts, turn her head to nose into Catra’s neck and press a kiss there. Catra immediately tilts her head back, despite her apparent shock, so Adora presses _several_ kisses along the line of Catra’s throat. She has wanted to do it for years, her eyes tracing along Catra’s jaw, neck, and collarbones, imagining them beneath her lips and hands.

“What- uh, what prompted this?” Catra manages to ask, her voice a little breathy. Adora smirks against her neck, shifting up a little to kiss beneath her jaw.

“Bow told me to just _talk_ to you instead of letting our emotions fester for years again. He also called us idiots. Not with words, but- his face, you know, it was kind of obvious,” Adora tells her, experimentally scraping her teeth in a sharp nip to Catra’s jawline afterwards. Catra draws in a sharp breath, her tail thudding heavily against Adora’s legs.

“Getting cocky already, Adora?” Catra teases, because she has to make a play for control after such an obvious reaction. Adora smirks to herself, tightening her grip and turning, hoisting Catra out of her lap to lay her out on the bed. Catra squeaks, flushing as she blinks up at Adora in surprise. Adora smirks down at her as she shifts to hover herself above Catra, her eyes trailing down her girlfriend’s body. She has had so many fantasies about being able to do things like this, it almost feels like a dream to finally be following through.

“It’s not false confidence,” she points out, bending to nip along Catra’s neck, latching on to suck a mark like the ones Catra has left _all over her_. Catra whimpers, arching a little beneath her as her breathing goes uneven. Her hands fall into Adora’s hair, twisting her fingers through her locks.

“I’m going to need you to prove that one,” Catra challenges.

\--

Around the time Adora is face down and whimpering her name, Catra has decided she has made her point and Adora _knows_ she lost. Not that it makes her relent the movement of her fingers or the teasing claw trails she is leaving down Adora’s back, just enough to feel without pain, but Adora arches her back into the touch for more.

“ _Catra_ ,” she breathes. There is no word for her tone of voice but _reverent_ , breathy and borderline worshipping. Catra’s breath catches, her satisfied purr stuttering, feeling the wave of heat that has been building between her legs crest to new heights.

“Come on, beautiful. Let me see how much you love it,” Catra tells her, bending to a press a kiss to her shoulder blade as she thrusts in, twisting her fingers a little to get a better angle. Adora whines, high and desperate, shifting her hips back to meet Catra in turn. Adora may be a top, she seems to love being fucked as well. Not that Catra isn’t the same, but she had not been anticipating how _easy_ it is to draw whining cries out of Adora. Her cries are getting louder now, panting _ahs_ as Catra thrusts into her.

“Are you going to come for me, Adora?” Catra asks, her voice low. She has _plans_ based off what Adora told her about her voice, but she has to go shopping first, so for now she settles for seductive whispers in Adora’s ear as Adora moans and nods into the sheets. Catra purrs. “Good. I want to _hear_ you, Adora,” Catra tells her. Adora groans at the words, panting out a few soft breaths before they build in pitch.

Catra keeps her thrusts steady as Adora tenses around her, walls twitching down hard. Adora releases a soft moan when her orgasm hits. Catra perks her ears forward, drinking in every desire-laced sound Adora lets spill forth.

“There’s my girl. You can let go, Adora,” Catra encourages as she works her through it. Adora cries out softly into the bed spread, her walls twitching down hard again, and Catra isn’t really sure if this is the same orgasm, or she wasn’t actually there yet, or a _second_ one, but Adora is definitely coming now as she cries out, tensing all over before she goes limp down onto the sheets, each breath still laced with a whine.

“Shh, it’s alright. I’ve got you,” Catra assures at her, stroking a hand down her back as she slowly slides her fingers out. Adora lets out a soft sound, barely even an acknowledgement, into the comforter. She doesn’t shift in the slightest as Catra shifts up to lay beside her, reaching for Adora and tugging her over onto her chest if only so she doesn’t suffocate in the sheets. Adora hums happily, nudging into Catra’s neck with a content sigh.

“I love you,” she mumbles. Catra feels herself flush.

“I love you too,” she returns, words barely a whisper, still a little disbelieving that she gets to finally say it. Adora lets out one of her soft sounds of delight.

“Can I take care of you now? I want to try the finger thing again. See if I can figure out how to explain it,” Adora tells her. _Oh_ , she can definitely do that.

\--

“Wildcat!” Scorpia beams when she throws open her front door, as if she is _surprised_ Catra is there despite the fact she comes over every Sunday. Catra rolls her eyes and tucks her arms in as she lets Scorpia sweep her up into a crushing hug. Her feet leave the ground and her lungs are squeezed tight, but that is _normal_ for Scorpia hugs, so Catra just accepts her fate with a sound that could be a hiss or a wheeze. Either way, Scorpia eases up her embrace a little, so Catra can at least _breathe_ again as she is deposited back on the ground, this time within the entrance of the apartment.

“Are you feeling better?” Scorpia asks as she pulls back, smiling down at Catra with her hands still on Catra’s shoulders. Catra rolls her eyes, inclining her head back towards the open door she was just hauled through. “Oh, right! Sorry, I got excited,” Scorpia responds, dropping her hands from Catra to close the door behind her.

“It’s been a _week_ , Scorpia,” Catra points out, despite how it is _always_ a week and Scorpia still greets her like this nearly everly Sunday. Scorpia sends her a pout that makes Catra snort. “I feel better, yeah,” she agrees. Scorpia smiles at that, clapping her shoulder with a pincer as she heads deeper into the apartment, practically dragging Catra along with her.

“I’m glad! Honestly, Wildcat, you are _fussy_ during your heat, and you’re temperamental anyway,” Scorpia tells her, sounding amused by it as they head to Perfuma’s meditation studio. It is also her gardening area, thanks to the large window that lets sunlight in. Ideally, they would like to rent a house, but they are barely older than Catra and Adora and don’t really have the funds for that yet.

Catra shoots her a glare, but there is no heat to it. Scorpia is right, but Adora never complains about it. She actually seems amused by Catra’s hissing and growling, always assuring her in a way that _should_ seem condescending but somehow never is, coming from Adora. She is too damn genuine for that.

“Remember when you cried over melted gummy bears when you were on your period?” Catra reminds as she pushes open the door to Perfuma’s studio. Scorpia laughs at that, a little embarrassed and a little fond. Perfuma looks up from where she is inspecting one of her plants. Unlike Scorpia, Perfuma does a doubletake at Catra’s wardrobe. She stole Adora’s jacket again, because it is warm and Adora let her.

“They were deformed, they looked so sad!” Scorpia defends. Catra snorts, rolling her eyes as she crosses the room to plop down on her usual mat. Perfuma is still scrutinizing her, although Scorpia seems oblivious to it as she joins Catra in the center on the room.

“How was your week, Catra?” Perfuma settles on asking as she turns back to finish whatever she is doing with her plant. Catra feels the corner of her mouth twitch along with the tip of her tail.

“Good. Adora and I set new rules for my future heats, given everything that happened,” Catra tells her, which is _true_ , but that only happened last night as they were falling asleep, Adora startling up from where she was already beginning to drool on the pillow and turning to Catra with serious eyes and asking what would be okay next time.

Catra’s answer of _your fingers and tongue_ had made her huff and flop back against the pillow, blush blazing. Perfuma hums as she turns back to the center of the room, crossing over to her own mat.

“And would those rules have anything to do with the hickey on your neck?” Perfuma asks, her voice falsely diplomatic. _Falsely_ , because Scorpia nearly chokes beside her and cranes her neck to eye Catra’s neck. Catra can’t help but grin, no _reason_ for it except that the words make her remember how eager Adora is to have her hands and mouth on her now.

“Entirely based on it, I would say,” she agrees. Scorpia is stuttering, _staring_ , as Catra reaches one hand up to lightly stroke along the mark. She feels her heart thud beneath her fingertips as she presses lightly against it, clearing her throat. “Bow bullied Adora into telling me her feelings at work on Friday. She asked to kiss me during our check-in talk. And she told me she loved me,” Catra admits, blushing as her tail flicks back and forth. Perfuma’s expression is an interesting mix or fond, relieved, and exasperated.

“And did you say it back?” she prompts. Scorpia has finally stopped sputtering, staring at Catra with eyes brimming with happiness – so brimming it risks spilling over in tears. Catra blushes more, feeling her ears twitch back in embarrassment.

“Yes. A lot,” Catra confirms. Scorpia _coos_ at the same time that Perfuma breaks into a smile.

“Oh, I’m so proud of you, Wildcat!” Scorpia tells her, throwing her arms around Catra’s shoulders. Catra is not expecting it, though she _should_ have been, letting out an _oof_ as Scorpia squeezes her. Perfuma chuckles at her girlfriend’s antics. Catra reluctantly raises her arms to hug Scorpia back. Scorpia holds her for several more moments before she finally releases her.

“You’re going to spend awhile catching up on what was actually happening for the last few years,” Perfuma warns her. Catra shrugs as she settles back on her mat. She doesn’t care. Given the truth that already came out yesterday, she anticipated that. She can admit damn near everything if she gets to fall asleep in Adora’s arms, pressing kisses against her soft skin as Adora runs her hands over her.

“We have the time,” she settles on saying. They have all their lives, truthfully.

\--

Adora shifts to taking her showers in the morning, which at least makes sure she doesn’t go to class or work smelling like sex, but still doesn’t eliminate the problem. Said _problem_ is Catra. As Adora cooks them breakfast, her hair still damp in its ponytail, Catra plasters against her back.

She rubs her face against Adora’s shoulders, purring softly as she roams her hands along Adora’s body, teasing along her ribcage and squeezing her chest through her shirt and sports bra. Adora bites her lip, feeling herself flush and doing nothing to stop Catra. Catra’s purr grows louder as she trails her hands down.

“I am _going_ to burn this if your hand keeps going,” Adora points out, but her voice is far too breathy. Catra’s hand stills at her waistband. She can feel Catra’s tail flicking against her legs as it sways in wide, swinging arcs. Catra is _definitely_ grinning to herself, Adora doesn’t need to look to know that.

“That a challenge, princess?” Catra asks. Adora swallows. Catra started calling her that after she lost what was probably their sixth _challenge_. Actually, she called her _pillow princess_ as she joked that Adora was losing on purpose, just to work her up. Luckily, just the princess part stuck around, but it _does things to her_.

“No. I lose your challenges. I don’t want to have to air smoke out the apartment all afternoon,” Adora returns. Catra actually _pouts_ against her, but she slides her hands up to return to fondling Adora, because that is so much more respectable. Adora lets her, because it feels nice and _probably_ won’t make her burn their breakfast, though it is certainly slowing down her thought processes.

“Don’t you need to get dressed?” Adora points out, knowing how flushed she must be. Her hybrid classmates have already been eyeing her all week, and she does not _particularly_ want to walk in smelling like she got jumped, even if she also does not really want Catra to stop. Catra grumbles against her back as she pulls back.

“I want to fuck you on the counter before dinner,” she tells Adora, nearly making her drop her spatula. Catra cackles as she retreats to their bedroom.

\--

If there is one thing Catra knows she will never get tired of, it is the sight of Adora blissed out in their sheets, her face slack and flushed as she moans and sighs with contentment. Adora has already gotten off once – she brought Catra over _twice_ – and she is relaxed as she just lays back and lets Catra have her way with her. Catra drinks in Adora _happily_ just letting herself enjoy Catra’s touch.

Adora is always going a hundred miles an hour. Ever since they were kids and she had boundless energy, and then they were adults – legally, anyway – and she _didn’t_ , but she had to keep going anyway, because she had to get her degree, and she had to provide for them, and she couldn’t let herself quit sports because it was the one thing she had never failed at before.

Adora has disappointed Shadow, and her teachers, and for a long time she thought it was _her_ fault Randor couldn’t sober up because she was not enough to be worth trying for. Adora has been getting better, over the years. Since getting away from Shadow, since coming to understand Randor’s problem was due to his brain and not _her_ , since they graduated and all their expenses were no longer on her head. It still is rare to see her just lay down and relax, between her work and school, but she always has time for Catra.

Sex might be the best thing to ever happen to Adora’s stress levels. Sure, there are the endorphins, but the main thing is just that she is willing to rest while Catra takes care of her as long as she gets her turn touching Catra too. Catra lays her head on Adora’s chest as she works her with one hand, breathing in her scent and listening to her heartbeat and shallow breaths. Adora’s eyes are closed, her lips parted in gentle sighs as she gives the occasional twitch but makes no effort to really work her hips, just letting Catra bring her over.

When Adora comes, it is silent but for a gentle sigh. She throws her head back, releasing a soft breath and then breathing in small gasps as she goes utterly limp beneath Catra, her skin sheened with sweat. Any other Thursday night and she would be sitting at her desk doing homework, but instead she weakly wraps her arms around Catra’s back, an unspoken request for her to stay against her. Catra presses a kiss to her sternum and gets an utterly contented sigh in return.

Adora’s eyes are closed, but a small smile is playing at the corner of her lips. It is still there when she falls asleep beneath Catra, despite the fact it is not yet seven. Catra makes no effort to wake her, relaxing in her embrace and committing herself to a catnap as well. She expects Adora will wake soon, but if Catra is asleep on her chest she won’t dare move.

Okay, she still has to trick Adora into taking a break, but _baby steps_.

\--

“How many dates do you think we’ve been on?” Adora asks Catra one night, her hands tangling in her short hair as she scratches behind her ears. On her chest, Catra’s purr stutters at the touch. They technically have not been on _one_ , but Catra understands her, so she doesn’t even question it.

“Probably stopped being countable freshmen year of college. Remember how wild we went, going anywhere free once we had the freedom to? Back then, I was still hoping every trip would end with a kiss,” Catra tells her. Adora frowns a little, but she nods, setting back to scratching at Catra’s scalp. It isn’t exactly an apology for her years of obliviousness and holding back, but it is what she can do now. Catra hissed at her the last time she apologized. She said she didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want Adora feeling guilty while they were together.

“Do you want to go on a proper date? With a kiss on the doorstep at the end and everything?” Adora settles on asking, because it has been nearly three weeks and for every single thing that has changed, another has remained just the same.

She wakes up every morning to Catra, just like before, but now she greets her in their bed rather than in their living room. They trade chores and tease each other like always, they just also murmur sweet nothings and draw long moans out of each other. Glimmer says it is because they have been basically married for years. Adora thinks that is a bit of an exaggeration, but she let it go. Against her chest, Catra purrs.

“You going to take me somewhere nice, princess?” Catra teases, shifting to press a kiss against her sternum. Adora rolls her eyes.

“Probably not, but it _will_ be somewhere you like,” she promises, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Catra purrs again. Somewhere _fancy_ is not Catra’s speed, though she would likely appreciate the effort. No, Catra would prefer a Waffle House over somewhere like Cheesecake Factory. Their first not-date might have been to a Waffle House, actually. Randor took them shortly after Adora’s fifteenth birthday and before the stroke, essentially chaperoning them.

Adora wonders if Catra can hear her thoughts.

“Do you want to tell him? He has thought we were together for a while,” Catra asks, softly. Adora pauses, thinking it over. They will probably visit him in the next few weeks. Adora tries to visit him a handful of times each year. She sighs.

“Yeah, I guessed. I don’t want to argue with him that we weren’t together already. He’ll forget it anyway. You know he told me to look after you when I saw him after his stroke? That was one of the last things he said to me face-to-face that year. It was also the first time he called you my girl,” Adora tells Catra. Adora still emailed with him, but seeing him in person was just too hard for a while. It took a few years for them to build up to the visits they do now. On her chest, Catra’s ear twitches.

“I think he always knew about us,” she says, softly. Adora nods her head into Catra’s hair. Yeah, in retrospect, he absolutely knew he was chaperoning them on their Waffle House date. Adora doesn’t know when he realized, but it was long before her. It had to be sometime in middle school, and he was only seeing Adora once a month then at best.

“We were really obvious to everyone but each other,” Adora returns. Catra snorts, muttering _you can say that again_ before she presses a kiss to Adora’s collarbone.

“I’ve got you now, though,” Catra tells her. Adora smiles to herself, dropping her hands to Catra’s back to hug her close.

“You always did,” she promises, pressing a kiss to each ear. Catra purrs.

\--

“Adora? How are things going?” Catra calls as she pops into their bedroom to change. Adora’s class got out before her work did today, so she has been home for nearly an hour now. She has been texting Catra as she worked on moving furniture around in her old bedroom so she has a proper workout space in the middle of it.

They visited Randor last weekend. They didn’t say anything, but Catra held Adora’s hand the whole time and kissed her cheek in front of him. He didn’t blink, although he did smile and tell them he is happy they have each other. It is something he has said many times before, but this time Catra didn’t mentally correct him.

The visit was the final push Adora needed to tell Catra she wanted to finally follow through on her suggestion to convert the spare bedroom into a workout space. She never found a new gym after her last one closed, sticking to home workouts and using the rec center’s equipment, but aside from moving some of Catra’s things out of the old room neither of them really knew what to do with it.

Adora doesn’t answer her call. Catra frowns as she pulls on a tank top and pair of leggings. She _was_ getting texts every few minutes, but those dropped off before she made it home. When she came in, Adora was in her old bedroom with the door closed. Cautiously, she pushes open their bedroom door and opens the door beside it.

Adora _startles_ , despite the fact that Catra called out to her just moments ago. She scrambles to tuck her hand behind her back where she sits on the edge of their guest bed, looking up at Catra with a flushed expression and guilty eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in,” she lies, _terribly_. Catra raises an eyebrow at her. She doesn’t _think_ she left anything in here worth hiding – she doesn’t think she _has_ anything worth hiding barring her sex toys, and those are stowed under their bed now. Adora has seen and _felt_ all of them. Besides, whatever she is hiding is small and Adora looks emotional about it.

“What did you find?” she asks, a bit cautious. She feels her tail twitching behind her as she actually steps into the room. She eyes Adora as she approaches the bed. Adora lets out a long, slow breath, looking down at her lap with her hand still behind her back.

“I didn’t _mean_ to find it. It fell out from behind the dresser when I was moving it,” Adora tells her, face flushed and not looking up as she produces her hand from behind her back. Catra blinks down at the small white box in her hand, trying to think how the _hell_ she is going to explain this to Adora without getting her hopes up or - alternatively, depending on how Adora feels about it - making her _worried_.

“It’s your mother’s,” she says, in a low voice, because that seems the quickest way to cut her thoughts off at the pass. Adora’s eyes immediately snap up to her, going wide. Catra swallows. “Randor gave it to me before we were even together. I told him I would never propose with it, but that you might want to have it one day. I thought it would hurt too much now,” she explains, looking down at the small box in Adora’s hand.

Adora looks back down to the box, drawing in a slow breath and opening up the box. Inside is a classic engagement ring, a modest diamond set atop a silver band. It is far from the style Catra would get Adora if she was even planning on going for a ring _anyway_. Adora’s hand holding the box shakes a little and she quickly replaces the lid, her breath coming a little fast.

“I don’t know that I will ever want it,” she admits in a whisper, not looking up from her lap as she holds the box out to Catra. Catra draws in a sharp breath, but she takes the box from Adora, looking down at it for a long moment.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” she promises Adora, taking a step to close the gap between them and pressing a kiss to her forehead. Adora’s breathing is still a bit uneven, but she nods, not looking up from her knees. Catra slips from the room, making sure to close the door behind her. It only takes her a few moments to cross to the kitchen and climb on the counter, sticking the ring up on top of the fridge.

They have no reason to ever look up there, but Catra has a good memory – she will know it is there when their lease is up and they move back to a one-bedroom apartment. Adora said she may never want it, but Catra knows she also does not want it lost or sold. Likely, they will bury it with Randor when the time comes.

Adora never met her mother – not in her memory, anyway – and Catra knows a part of her guiltily places some of the blame for Randor’s spiral on her. It is not her fault, she had no say in getting sick or what her husband did afterwards, but it is easier to blame the person who is no longer here than the one who has taken her to the beach and held her hand.

Catra returns to her old bedroom, pushing the door open to find Adora exactly how she left her. Adora looks up at the door opening, sending Catra an almost _apologetic_ smile. Catra frowns, crossing the room to sit beside her and wrap an arm around her back. Adora happily leans into the touch.

“You hid it again?” she asks, softly, as she turns to tuck her head into Catra’s shoulder. Catra nods into her hair.

“You won’t find it by accident where it is now, you’d have to go looking. You know I’m not interested in rings _anyway_ , but I would never give you that one,” Catra tells Adora, pressing a kiss to Adora’s forehead. Adora nods. They have talked about this before – before they were _together_ , back in college, but Catra was very much dropping hints at the time.

She doesn’t wear jewelry – it is mostly incompatible with fur, pinching her painfully – and neither does Adora, finding it too impractical or uninteresting. Catra decided when they were _twelve_ that she would propose, or want to be proposed _to_ , in the hybrid tradition by presenting ropes with which to make a meaningful knotwork piece together. The tradition is even older than the rings that humans and elves use, and Catra likes the emotion behind creating something together better.

Adora had agreed with her at the time, vaguely, that she likes that tradition much better for if she were to ever marry a hybrid. _I don’t want to wear a ring_ , she said, wrinkling her nose and staring up at the ceiling. They were laying beside each other on their dorm beds. Adora would not realize she was in love with Catra for another semester.

Adora sighs against her shoulder. “I know, that’s why I was so confused. I’ve never seen it before. I just assumed it was buried with her, I guess,” Adora tells her, turning her head to absently press a kiss against her shoulder. Catra just nods, unsure of what to say. She _knew_ Adora wouldn’t want it, but she didn’t know if she might reach a place one day where she could appreciate it as the only piece of her mother she had left.

It occurs to Catra that Adora also thought, for a moment, it was possible she was already thinking of proposing. Then again, that might not actually mean anything. Finding an engagement ring is pretty damning evidence if you don’t know its source.

“Randor thought you were going to propose, huh?” Adora asks, softly. Catra chuffs, turning to nuzzle down into Adora’s hair.

“I think he just thought I _should_ after so many years of thinking we were together. He started bugging me about it late last year. I love the hell out of you, Adora, but I want us to find our footing first. And move apartments,” Catra tells her. She adds the last part mostly just to give Adora a _timeline_. Their lease isn’t up until late fall, and Catra probably would not think about really proposing until next year unless they needed to do it for legal reasons. She doesn’t need some _paper_ to tell her that Adora is hers.

Adora always cries at weddings, though. She was a mess when Mermista and Sea Hawk tied the knot. She wants to have one, one day, so they will when it is time. Against her shoulder, Adora snorts, lifting her head to look down at Catra with soft eyes. “I don’t know why he got it in his head that _you_ should be the one to do it,” Adora tells her, wrapping her arms around Catra’s waist and pulling her closer, almost into her lap. Catra lets herself be led with an eyeroll.

“Because you exude innocence and I’m the one with a full-time job, Adora,” Catra tells her as Adora guides her to straddle over her lap. Adora actually _pouts_ at that.

“I’m not innocent,” she counters. Catra smirks down at her girlfriend, remembering the _filth_ that had streamed from her mouth last night as she coaxed Catra to the point where she could let go and _beg_ her for it.

“Oh, I _know_ , princess, but no one else expects you to be a freak. Except Glimmer and Bow, I guess, but you had to _tell_ them that, so it doesn’t count,” Catra tells her. Adora flushes. Neither of them provide _details_ about what they do together to their friends – stuff like that is just for them – but sometimes things come up, like when Bow came to Catra - for some reason - for advice about strap-ons.

Though he has finally gotten his body where he wants it to be, now he and Glimmer are finally getting _active_ , he has a certain way he would like to be able to have sex. He had a lot of questions about logistics, because of course he did. Bow is less of a “let’s have fun and if it doesn’t work we’ll laugh about it” person and more of a “rose petals and candles in strategically chosen spots to be the least likely to cause a fire” kind of guy.

Of the people who know he is trans, Catra probably _is_ the most knowledgeable about strap-ons, but it still had been a surprise that he knew that. Adora had not given a fuck what Catra told him as she worked on making them all dinner in background. Adora had even laughed with her when Catra told the story of Adora tripping stepping out of the harness and banging her knee on the edge of the bedframe. She still had the bruise, which she showed off proudly.

“I’m going to beat you to it,” Adora decides, after a moment. Catra blinks down at her, surprised, taking a few seconds to process the statement.

“Beat me to _proposing_? No, you won’t,” she returns, rolling her eyes. Adora pouts, tugging Catra a bit closer as if to _assert her dominance_ or something, but her hands are gentle. Adora has won a few of their challenges at this point, but _very few_.

“I can do it! I’ll look up the rope meanings and everything,” Adora argues. Catra smirks down at her, placing her hands lightly on Adora’s shoulders and _squeezing_ , watching the way Adora’s eyes dilate a little at the touch.

“You’ll lose this one, princess, don’t bother. You will keep waiting because you won’t be sure if I’m ready yet – and I won’t be for a while – and then I will do it while you are overanalyzing. I’ll make it romantic, don’t worry,” Catra tells her, grinning a little when Adora huffs and rolls her eyes.

Adora reaches out and tugs her down into a kiss, because she knows Catra is _right_ and she has no other rebuttal. Catra purrs in satisfaction.

**Author's Note:**

> Much going on here. The rope/knotwork headcannon I covered in more depth in SLAS. I love trans Bow, so I always planned to include him in this story, but he was never in it enough for it to come up explicitly until now.
> 
> Next fic is another one-shot, this one the prequel about Adora’s family. I’m thinking of going back to posting three times a week/every other day over the break, since I have a couple one-shots on the back burner right now, but we’ll see what happens.


End file.
